HARTSVILLE, S.C. – May 11, 2012 – Coker College Provost Tracy Parkinson has been selected to participate in a national seminar on higher education leadership this summer.

The Colloquium on Leadership for Chief Academic Officers: Classic and Contemporary Readings is cosponsored by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) and the American Academic Leadership Institute (AALI) and will be held July 17-21 in Annapolis, Md. Discussion topics on the agenda include Building Oneself; Human Nature and Society; Citizens, Persons and Society; Power and the Personal; and the Nature of Leadership.

The core idea behind the program, according to organizers, is to combine “the pleasures of reading familiar works with a fresh perspective” with the “practical benefit of reflection on their relevance to contemporary academic leadership issues.” The discussions will reference works by Eudora Welty, John Locke, William Shakespeare and Niccolo Machiavelli.

“When I interview prospective faculty,” said Parkinson, who will be one of only 25 participants, “I note my expectations that they be sure to engage in reflective practice about their teaching and that they be sure to make ongoing efforts to be engaged in broader conversations in their fields.

“The CIC Colloquium provides me the opportunity to do those same things I ask of them for much the same reason – allowing me to meaningfully interact with others in similar positions, to better understand the nuances of Coker in a broader context and to step back and look for connections between theory and practice that apply to my role.”

Parkinson was appointed provost of Coker College last July. He graduated from Carson-Newman College with a Bachelor of Arts with honors in French and Spanish, University of Tennessee with a Master of Arts in French Language and Literature and subsequently with a Doctor of Philosophy in Modern Foreign Languages and Literature.

Representing more than 600 colleges and universities and headquartered in Washington, D.C., CIC is the major service organization for small and mid-sized, independent, liberal arts colleges and universities in the nation. CIC focuses on providing services to campus leaders through seminars, workshops and programs that assist institutions in improving educational offerings, administrative and financial performance and institutional visibility.

Also headquartered in Washington, D.C., AALI is a non-profit organization that works to strengthen academic leadership in all sectors of public and private higher education.

PHOTO: Coker College Provost Tracy Parkinson

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Coker College readies undergraduates for personal and professional success through a distinctive four-year program that emphasizes a practical application of the liberal arts as well as hands-on and discussion-based learning within and beyond the classroom. Coker is ranked among the “Best Colleges” in the South by U.S. News & World Report as well as The Princeton Review. Located in Hartsville, S.C., Coker is within two hours of the cultural, financial and recreational resources of Charlotte, Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach.